In recent years, flat-panel television units have become enormously popular in both the commercial and the residential sectors. As the prices for plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panel displays have continued to fall, and as the quality for the same devices have improved, more and more businesses and individuals have purchased such devices both for business and home entertainment purposes.
One of the advantages of flat-panel television units that customers have found particularly appealing is their relatively low thickness. Because conventional “tube” televisions have a relatively large depth, the display options for such devices are quite limited. In the residential setting, most users require a television stand or large entertainment center to store the television. Such stands or entertainment centers can take up significant floor space, which is often undesirable. In the commercial or educational setting, users will often install large overhead mounting systems that can contain the television. However, these systems usually require professional installation and, once the television is secured in the mount, it is often very difficult to access and adjust due to its height.
With flat-panel televisions, on the other hand, users are presented with a relatively new option: mounting the television directly to a wall or similar surface. By mounting the television to a wall, a person can eliminate the need to take up potentially valuable floor space with a television stand or entertainment unit. Furthermore, individuals and entities can mount the television at a sufficiently low height to be able to adjust the television's orientation with little difficulty.
Although the introduction of flat-panel televisions on a wide scale has presented new opportunities to both residential and commercial customers, it has also presented new challenges. Over the past few years, a number of wall mounting systems have been developed for use with flat panel televisions, but each has their own drawbacks. The products described in these disclosures rely upon the use of a set of curved slots to form a rotatable connection between a mounting bracket and a support bracket. Although moderately useful, a rolling connection among the slots is required for the smooth tilting movement of the mounting bracket relative to the support bracket. Unfortunately, the curved slots themselves can cause the mounting systems' rolling pins to slip during the tilting process, which can lead to the mounting bracket, and therefore the attached television or display, to move in an abrupt, non-smooth fashion relative to the support bracket. Such movements can make it difficult for one to precisely position the television or display in the desired position. Additionally, gravity can, on occasion, cause the rolling pins to fall within the slots, which can cause the system to bind. In such a situation, it becomes more difficult to adjust the orientation of the flat panel display. Furthermore, with some newer plasma and LCD televisions being more sensitive and delicate than conventional tube televisions, such sudden slippage could also damage the devices.
U.S. Application Publication No. 2004/0245420 discloses a mounting system where a plurality of arc-shaped glides are used in place of the rolling pins. However, such glides may be more expensive to manufacture than rolling pins, are more difficult to assemble into the curved slots than the rolling pins, and are prone to suffering wear to the frictional sliding of the glides against the sides of the slots.
It therefore would be desirable to develop an improved rotatable connection for tilt mounting systems that addresses the above-identified shortcomings.